Heel protectors



Nov. 16; 1965 J. NOVICK HEEL PROTECTORS Filed Nov. 5, 1963 INVENTOR JACKNOVICK United States Patent 3,217,430 HEEL PROTECTORS Jack Novick, 619Pauley Drive, West Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y. Filed Nov. 5, 1963, Ser.No. 321,473 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-72) The present invention relates to heelprotectors, and more particularly to protectors adapted for all sizes ofladies and mens shoes, without danger of slipping off.

Various shoe and heel attachments have been designed and used, servingas mud guards, sole and heel protectors, and also for protecting thebottoms of mens trousers. The present invention relates to the kind ofheel protectors most advantageously used when operating an automobile,for protecting both the heel of the drivers shoe and also the carpet inthe vehicle against scufiing and wear.

Particularly with low-built cars, the back portion of the drivers heelas well as the counter portion of his shoe practically rests on thefloor. Constant shifting from the accelerator pedal to the brake keepsscuffing the shoe. No matter how clean the floor pad, tiny particles ofsand and dirt brought into the car act as abrasives, and tend to scuifthe shoes.

The inventive heel protectors have the purpose of eliminating these andother drawbacks, and of providing an efiicient protection for thedrivers shoe.

Attachments of this kind have usually been provided with straps passingaround the front portion of the shoe, so as to hold the attachments inplace. These straps are cumbersome, impractical and also unpleasing tothe eye. Some of the heel and shoe protectors have been made with fullheel taps or soles without which they could not be held firm on theshoe.

A particular ladies heel protector became known, for example, in which acoil spring connects the upper edge of the shoe with a socket or soleplate. The spring is embedded in the hem of the forward edge of the shoeprotector. This attachment is believed to be most disadvantageousbecause the spring tends to crush the upper counter of the shoe, whilethe hook used to hold the spring in place is most likely to tear thewearers hosiery.

Other, molded type, heel protectors have also been used which, however,are adapted to particular shoe or heel sizes only. The shapes of suchmolded attachments will fit only particular shoe contours and/orheights. Consequently, the attachments will either slip off easily orhave to be purchased individually for each kind of shoe. This isparticularly true of ladies shoes which come in many shapes, sizes andmeasurements, even for the same wearer. Thus, lady drivers would have toown more than one heel protector if they wish to use, as they actuallydo, various shoe models while driving a car.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to dispense with thedrawbacks inherent with previously known heel protectors. A single modelor size of ladies and mens protector may be provided, according to thepresent invention, which will fit all sizes, models and shapes of shoes;these protectors will not slip off and will prove most comfortable towear.

It is another object of the invention to provide heel protectors whichdo not require front straps at all, and do not have to rely on a heeltap either for their support. All hooks, springs and other rather clumsymechanical elements are being dispensed with, thereby providing a simpleyet foolproof heel protector device.

According to a major feature of the invention, the heel protectorcomprises a top portion hugging part of the wearers shoe back, and abottom portion partly engaging the heel. In ladies heel protectors, thebottom portion extends far enough to provide protection against wear andscuffing when wearing the protector while driving a car.

According to another feature of the invention, a resilient strap isprovided which is made to embrace the breast of the heel, and serves asthe only means of holdin g the novel heel protector on the shoe.

According to yet another inventive feature, at least a portion of theheel protector hems and/ or edges may include a reinforcement which willbind and hug the back part of the heel and counter. In a preferredembodiment, this reinforcement may include a sectional rim portionhaving air pockets therein, separated by wall portions. This rim willadhere to the shoe owing to the vacuum produced when said rim portion isstretched out to some extent on the wearers shoe.

The various objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description oftwo exemplary, preferred embodiments, when considered in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing, wherein FIG. 1 is a side view of a heelprotector for men, according to the present invention, in use;

FIG. 2 is a perspective frontal view of the heel protector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partly sectional, partial top view of the same protector,illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, as applied to a mans shoe;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional View taken on line 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a ladys heel protector according tothe invention.

In a first exemplary embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, aheel protector is generally designated 10, for a mans shoe 19, andcomprises a top portion 12 and a bottom portion 14, a fastening strapportion 16 being attached substantially between said two portions. Thetop portion 12 has a curved shape adapted to follow the shoe counter,while the bottom portion 14 includes a small sole portion 15 which maybe made of a somewhat stronger material than the rest of the heelprotector so as better to withstand wear. FIGS. 14 are various views ofthe same heel protector 10, of which FIGS. 3 and 4 also include portionsof the shoe 19 visible in FIG. 1.

The inventive heel protectors are preferably made from an elasticmaterial, e.g. thin rubber, plastic, or the like. The protectors mayalso consist of a textile material, while the hem portion to bedescribed hereafter in more detail consists of rubber or plastic. Abacking of patent leather may also be used in connection with theinventive heel protectors.

As can best be seen from FIG. 4, the top portion 12 is surrounded by aperipheral hem portion 13 which includes regularly spaced compartments13a separated by walls 1317. Similar structure appears at the hem of thebottom portion 14, and at the strap 16, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Itshould be noted, however, that the compartments 13a and separating walls13b may be provided over part of the hem only, e.g., at the outer edgesof the top and bottom portions 12, 14, but may be omitted between them,in the hem portion forming the continuation of the forward strap portion16.

When the heel protector 10 is pulled over the shoe 19 in a somewhatstretched condition, the air pockets or compartments 13a exert a slightvacuum effect, hugging thereby safely the wearers shoe. The walls 13bprevent the hem portion from collapsing under the pull, creating acontinuous section of small air pockets, so that the vacuum effect willnot be reduced.

In a second preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 5, a heel protector 20is shown for ladies shoes 29, which has similar parts as those of thepreviously described mens heel protector 10. A top portion 22 is joinedto a bottom portion 24, the frontal connecting edge between theseportions being formed by a heel-hugging strap portion 26. Although notshown in detail for this embodiment, the protector 20 may also have hemportions 23 for either or both of the portions 22, 24, with or withoutsmall air pockets .or compartments and walls therebetween, as has beendescribed hereinabove.

The ladies shoe protector 20 does not have a sole portion attached tothe bottom portion 24. The heel of the shoe 29 passes through a recessof the bottom portion 24. It will be understood by those skilled in theart that the heel protector 20 shown herein merely represents anexemplary model from which variations are possible in size, height,shape and contour, so as to provide various heel protector modelsadapted for various kinds of ladies shoes. Within certain limits,however, the same heel protectors will fit certain basic shoe and heelcontours.

The strap 16 may be made of tubular, solid or other shape of plastic orsimilar material, with or without air pockets for producing a vacuumefiect. At this portion, it is mainly the tension over the heel breastwhich holds the heel protector; FIG. 2, therefore, shows a solid strapfor the preferred mens heel protector 10.

It will be understood that several variants and deviations from theabove-described two preferred embodiments of the inventive heelprotectors are possible which are entirely within the scope of thepresent invention, except as limited by the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A heel protector for a heel having a breast portion, comprising, incombination, a top portion having a shape adapted to hug part of thecounter of the wearers shoe,

a bottom portion partly contiguous with said top portion and having ashape adapted to hug part of said heel of the shoe, and elastic strapmeans connected to said top and said bottom portions at lateral regionsof their contact and adapted to hug said breast portion, said strapmeans being the sole expedient by which the heel protector is attachedto the shoe, at least one of said top and said bottom portions havingperipheral hem portions for lending rigidity to the respective portion,so as to hug the shoe in closely adjacent relationship, said hemportions at least partly consisting of a sectioned beading providing avacuum effect, when the heel protector is fastened to the shoe, so as toexclude dirt from the parts of the shoe covered by the heel protector.

2. A heel protector as defined in claim 1, wherein the upper edge ofsaid top portion and the lateral edge of said bottom portion areprovided with said beading, the sections therein including substantiallyequidistant wall portions defining therebetween air compartments forproducing said vacuum eifect.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,439,104 12/1922Helwitz 3672 1,442,028 1/ 1923 Phillips 3672 1,691,582 11/1928 Nowak3672 1,816,784 7/ 1931 McDerrn-ott 3672 1,830,912 11/1931 Rarney 36721,916,815 7/1933 Smith 3672 2,894,339 7/1959 Shapiro 3672 3,063,17211/1962 Beattie 3672 3,066,427 12/1962 Matthews 3672 References Cited bythe Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 523,578 7/1894 Johnson.

539,843 5/ 1895 Williams.

630,726 8/1899 Morrow. 1,458,497 6/1923 Perkins. 1,493,322 5/1924 Carteret al. 1,769,758 7/ 1930 Siese. 1,770,261 7/1930 Barthes. 1,895,5981/1933 Fricker.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

FRANK I. COHEN, Examiner.

1. A HEEL PROTECTOR FOR A HEEL HAVING A BREAST PORTION, COMPRISING, INCOMBINATION, A TOP PORTION HAVING A SHAPE ADAPTED TO HUG PART OF THECOUNTER OF THE WEARER''S SHOE, A BOTTOM PORTION PARTLY CONTIGUOUS WITHSAID TOP PORTION AND HAVING A SHAPE ADAPTED TO HUG PART OF SAID HEEL OFTHE SHOE, AND ELASTIC STRAP MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID TOP AND SAID BOTTOMPORTIONS AT LATERAL REGIONS OF THEIR CONTACT AND ADAPTED TO HUG SAIDBREAST PORTION, STRAP MEANS BEING THE SOLE EXPEDIENT BY WHICH THE HEELPROTECTOR IS ATTACHED TO THE SHOE, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID TOP AND SAIDBOTTOM PORTIONS HAVING PERIPHERAL HEM PORTIONS FOR LENDING RIGIDITY TOTHE RESPECTIVE PORTION, SO AS TO HUGH THE SHOE IN CLOSELY ADJACENTRELATIONSHIP, SAID HEM PORTIONS AT LEAST PARTLY CONSISTING OF ASECTIONED BEADING PROVIDING A VACUUM EFFECT, WHEN THE HEEL PROTECTOR ISFASTENED TO THE SHOE, SO AS TO EXCLUDE DIRT FROM THE PARTS OF THE SHOECOVERED BY THE HEEL PROTECTOR.